Our Soap
$5.50/each or 4-for-$20
Basic Soap
Our most versatile soap, this bar can be used for hands, body, hair, dishes or even shaved into laundry soap. With hints of lavender and cedar-wood the essential oils in this soap sooth and relax while leaving you smelling fresh and clean.
Aromatherapy Bar
All the benefits of our hand-made soaps, with an extra boost of artisanal blends of essential oils with therapeutic effects designed to destress and please the senses. These bars do change by the batch, and currently feature a smooth combination of dark patchouli and clary sage.
Exfoliant Bar
Soap made for scrubbing, our exfoliant bars contain coffee grounds that provide a texture that exfoliates without being too rough on your skin. Coffee grounds also provide added oils that hydrate your skin and provide a pleasant smell that is invigorating.
Shampoo Bar
Our special formula is designed for use on hair and scalp to clean without a trace of oiliness or dryness. Simple scrub into your hand or directly onto your head to create a sud that can be used on even the most delicate of hair. With essential oils of rosemary and citrus.
Laundry Soap
Make a liquid or add these flakes of soap directly in with your laundry for clean and fragrant washes. For more instruction on how to use hand-made soap for this purpose, see our how-to-use section.
Travel Bar (x2)
Fragrant, compact, and effective, these small and convenient bars pack well and last a long time. Travel clean and smell great by using these travel bars for hands, face, body, hair, clothes, and dishes.
Custom batches available upon request. 25 bars for $100.
Please reach us on our contact page.
Our Recipe
We adapted our recipe to be as local as possible, and almost all our materials come from Cape Breton. The key ingredient in our soaps is hard tallow- a purified animal fat which we purchase locally from sources that would otherwise produce this as waste. We also use coconut oil to produce a smooth and moisturizing feel. Spring water comes from the family farm, mineral rich clay from Nova Scotia soil, and seaweed from the nearby ocean beaches. Lye is used in the process, but transforms completely into soap, as described in our process. Last but not least we use an assortment of essential oils to create the wonderful smell you enjoy long after the soap is used to clean and moisturize.
Our Artisan
Mary is the mind behind Flora and Fauna; she is a local to Cape Breton who learned her craft and secrets from a third generation soap-maker. What began as a passion project to make soap for family and friends became selling at local markets where the majority of her customers are returning. While running a small family farm with her children, she has also recently ventured as a partner in an upcoming pop-up-cafe business. Her other passions include fibre arts and dipping into the Atlantic Ocean all year round.
Our Process
- We begin by processing our animal fats to purify them into tallow. This takes several hours and involved heating the fats to separate out impurities.
- Next step combines spring water and lye, which requires care as lye is a caustic and dangerous chemical that can cause serious burns. This is stored safely until needed.
- Over our wood stove the processed hard tallow is melted down and combined with other oils.
- The lye mixture is added and the solution is blended, rendering the lye into soap thus removing its dangerous properties.
- Essential oils are added to the mix before it thickens too much, as are any special additives (such as exfoliants). Finally if any colourant is to be added, it is fully mixed in or swirled lightly.
- The soap is poured into a mold and allowed to set for 24 hours.
- After hardening appropriately, the soap can be removed from the mold and cut if necessary.
- We leave our de-molded soap to cure for 3-4 weeks to allow more water to evaporate out and thus leave a harder, milder, and more “finished” soap.
How To Use
- Hands, Body, Face
- Rub into hands with water (warm water works best) to create a lather that can be applied to body or face. After washing with this later (or suds) fully rinse off all traces with water and towel dry.
- Hair
- Create a lather in your hands and apply to scalp, or rub directly into hair to create a foam (not much is needed). Massage the suds into your roots for at least a minute and fully rinse out with warm water.
- Exfoliant
- Using an exfoliant bar, rub directly onto skin with some pressure (not too much is necessary). Once a lather has formed, continue scrubbing gently with hands for at least a minute. Completely rinse with warm water and feel refreshed!
- Laundry
- Solid: Using a cheese grater, shave your soap into chips that can be put into the laundry machine directly with your laundry. The amount needed will depend on the amount of laundry used and intensity of stains. In general, a load of laundry only needs 1 tablespoon of grated soap. Use with warm water or hot water to ensure the soap dissolves properly.
- Liquid: grate a whole bar of soap and dissolve in 4 cups of distilled water heated just before boiling (tip: do not let mixture come to a boil). Remove from heat and mix in an additional 4 cups of distilled water. Let rest overnight before whisking mixture until smooth and silky. Store in sealed glass container and use about 1/4 cup per load of laundry.
- Travel washing
- Keep in a sealed container, making sure to remove any moisture between uses to avoid the soap becoming soggy. Use as normal.
- Dishes
- Scrub soap into sponge or wash cloth to create sudsy solution which can then be used to clean dishes.
Have a question? Ask us here.
Flora + Fauna Soap 